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DISCOURSE 21
only if you have an eye for them. When someone has virtues but if you do not have an eye for virtues, you cannot see those virtues. Those who have the habit of seeing only faults cannot see virtues. How can we expect such people to see virtues ? It is not an easy thing to discard a habit. You find it difficult to discard even such an ordinary habit as smoking beedies; When that is so, how much more difficult is it to give up such a serious and long-standing habit as seeing faults in others? Yes! Some great men in whom some great punya or merit has appeared; or who have attained some special grace may discard the habit of seeing faults; but that is a different matter. It happens in exceptional cases. Such men as Haribhadra may do it. He used to see only faults in the Jain Dharma and in the Jain religous places but after coming under the influence of the Sadhvi Yakinimahattara, a profound transformation took place in him. The man who used to scoff at the idol of the Paramatma became a devotee of it; and began glorifying it.
THE EXCITING STORY OF GOVINDACHARYA
A similar incident took place in the life of Govindacharya. He was a brahmin and a great scholar. He had a great abhorrence for the Jain dharma. He had a strong desire to refute and disprove the doctrines of Jainism in the royal court. One must possess a proper knowledge of the doctrines of a person with whom one would like to argue about those things. Govindacharya tried to attain a knowledge of Jain dharma; but how could he get an authentic knowledge of Jain dharma without the help of a Jain Acharya? Govindacharya was worried. He knew that the Jain acharyas would not reveal the secrets and mysteries of their doctrines to all.
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They reveal the secrets of their doctrines only to their disciples in whom they have full confidence, and who are absolutely obedient to them. He thought, "Therefore, I should become a disciple of a Jain acharya. In that case. I can master the inner secrets and mysteries of Jain Dharma; then I will argue with the same acharya and defeat him and hurl Jainism out of Bharat (India)".
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